BROOKINGS A Brookings man facing allegations that he physically abused his 3-month-old daughter has been arrested and was in the Brookings County Detention Center as of Wednesday afternoon.
Bailey D. Melchor, 19, came to the attention of the Brookings Police Department after a report was received on the afternoon of Oct. 14. In an Oct. 15 news release from the city, BPD Chief Michael Drake wrote that Melchor is suspected of having subjected his 3-month-old daughter to physical abuse by allegedly throwing, striking, squeezing, and choking the infant over a period of time.
Drake noted that Melchor is facing a pair of charges abuse or cruelty to a minor under age 7 and aggravated battery of an infant. Both are felonies.
Brookings County State’s Attorney Dan Nelson told the Brookings Register on Thursday that Melchor will also face three additional counts of aggravated assault. He added that Melchor’s bond was set at $10,000 by Judge Bob Pesall. That occurred after Nelsons office sought a higher bond at the Thursday hearing, but Pesall denied the request.
The infant was initially treated at Brookings Hospital, Drake wrote in the release. (She) has since been transferred to Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, where she is being treated for multiple fractures of the ribs and extremities, along with a possible hemorrhage of the brain.
Drake said the investigation is continuing in the case.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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